At the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), the water level in the cooling pond has dropped to 13.4 m and is approaching the critical level of 12 m — if the water level falls below this level, the cooling systems will stop working. All six reactors are currently in a cold shutdown state, and under current conditions it is impossible to safely start even one of them.
This was stated by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi.
According to him, measures to isolate the water main provide only temporary relief, so a long-term solution such as building a pumping station is needed.
Grossi also said again that six of the seven key principles of nuclear safety were violated at ZNPP.
He stressed that continuous military activity, including shelling directly near ZNPP, is of serious concern and further increases the risks.
What is the situation at ZNPP?
ZNPP is currently connected to only one external power supply line, which poses a serious risk. From the beginning of the occupation in 2022 until May, the power plant was connected to two power lines that connected it to the Ukrainian power grid.
Due to Russian shelling, one of the lines was periodically disconnected — ZNPP was on the verge of a blackout, but specialists managed to restore power. However, since May 7 of this year, the station has lost connection to the last reserve 330 kV power transmission line. Since then, it has been powered by a single 750 kV line.
Previously, “Energoatom” explained that before the Russians occupied the Zaporizhzhia NPP, the plant consumed electricity from its own four transmission lines and three reserve lines. And during the occupation, the joint efforts of so-called “Rosatom specialists” and the Russian military contingent brought the Zaporizhzhia NPP to the last stage of degradation.
If the only working line fails, it will mean that Zaporizhzhia NPP will lose external power supply to the station with the launch of emergency diesel generators. But their resources are limited both in terms of operating time and the availability of diesel fuel. Thus, the launch of diesel generators means the beginning of the countdown to the start of nuclear fuel meltdown.
- The Russians occupied the Zaporizhzhia NPP in early March 2022 and have been operating under their control since then. An IAEA mission has been at the station since September 2022. Ukraine insists on the withdrawal of the Russian occupiers from the station. Russia refuses to create a demilitarized zone at ZNPP.
- In September of this year, Putin stated that the Russian Federation is ready to cooperate with the United States and Ukraine on the issue of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to him, “if favourable circumstances arise, we have discussed this with our American colleagues, we can even work together at the Zaporizhzhia NPP”. Back in March of this year, the Russians stated that the Zaporizhzhia NPP is a Russian nuclear facility, and transferring control over it to Ukraine or any other country is impossible.
- In April, Reuters published a US peace plan that proposed that Ukraine regain control of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The US would operate the plant and supply electricity to Ukraine and Russia. In response, Ukraine and the EU presented their own plan — in which Ukraine would regain control of the plant with the participation of the US, Russia is not mentioned in this issue.
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